NEW YORK – A federal prosecutor in New York says the government has proven with overwhelming evidence that a San Francisco man who launched an underground website four years ago was the mastermind of a worldwide drug-selling network.

Prosecutor Serrin Turner said in closing arguments Tuesday that the evidence against Ross William Ulbricht was largely undisputed.

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The government says Ulbricht enabled more than 1 million drug deals on the Silk Road website and earned about $18 million.

Ulbricht has pleaded not guilty. He disputes he operated online under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, a reference to a swashbuckling character in "The Princess Bride." Serrin noted that Ulbricht was logged on under the alias when he was arrested.

Ulbricht also is charged in Baltimore federal court in an attempted murder-for-hire scheme.